Family Dinner
by AhmoseInarus
Summary: Written for the April Flowers Challenge on CCOAC - The team has a "family dinner" together at Prentiss' apartment. T for mentions of sex, and language. NO PAIRINGS.


Family Dinner

Ahmose Inarus

Written for the Flower Challenge on CCOAC.

Chosen Flower: Hyacinth

Chosen Character: Spencer Reid

Assigned Character: Emily Prentiss.

Quantico, VA

6:00 PM

Emily Prentiss looked up from the stove at a knock on her door. She poked her sauce-covered finger into her mouth and frowned, threw a bit more pepper into the mixture and giving it a vigorous stir before sticking her hands under the faucet and hurrying to the door, shaking them and flinging water about. She leaned over and peered through the peephole, then smiled and unlocked the door, opening it.

"Why, Doctor Spencer Reid…" She greeted with a large grin. "Such a gentleman!"

"Here." Reid mumbled, smiling and blushing as he offered her the plant.

"Oh, wow… that smells AMAZING." Emily blurted as the powerful, but heavenly scent of the deep red flowers overtook her senses. "What is it?"

"Hyacinth." Reid said with a small smile, and followed her into her apartment. "Well, I mean, this isn't the original true Hyacinth plant but it's the one everyone knows… Hyacinth comes from Greek mythology. Apollo, god of light, music and the arts, and Zephyr, god of the West Wind, both fancied a young athlete named Hyakinthos."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Homosexuality was not an uncommon theme… I mean, Zeus himself had an affair with a young prince named Ganymede and—"

"Reid. You were telling the hyacinth story." Emily reminded as she set the plant down on the table.

"Oh. Right." Reid laughed, sheepishly. "Anyway… one day, Zephyr came across Apollo teaching Hyakinthos how to throw the discus… he got jealous and blew the discus back at them. It struck Hyakinthos in the head and killed him. But when his blood soaked the ground he fell upon, a plant grew and blossomed. Apollo named it Hyacinth in memory of Hyakinthos."

"A lot of plants have names that come from Greek Mythology." Emily commented, and Reid perked.

"Indeed! Hyacinth, Narcissus, Crocus, Saffron, Iris, Larkspur, Laurel, Adonis, Peony, Daphne—"

"Alright, Reid!" Emily laughed, stirring the sauce on the stove.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"Can I help?"

"Sure! I think the timer on the oven is about to go off, you can get out the garlic bread."

"Okay." Reid smiled and nodded, taking off his coat and seeking out the oven mitts. "Morgan is going to be late."

"I can live with that. As long as Rossi brings the wine." Emily laughed, and Reid grinned. There was another knock on the door. "Can you get that?"

"Sure." Reid said, just as the oven timer went off. Reid quickly shoved on the oven mitts, pulled the foil wrapped bundle out and tossed it on the counter, then scurried to the door. He opened it, and Hotch and Rossi stepped in.

"Hey Reid." Hotch greeted with a smile, carrying a large salad bowl.

"Hello." Reid smiled back. "Hi, Rossi."

"Hey kid. Something smells good."

"Ask Emily." Reid grinned.

"You're the one wearing the oven mitts." Hotch pointed out, and Reid flushed and pulled them off, scuttling back into the kitchen. Hotch and Rossi met amused glances and chuckled, following.

"Hey, guys!" Emily greeted, dumping a boiling pot into a strainer in the sink, and then running cold water over the pasta to stop it cooking. "Ah, the wine is here!"

"Selected it specially for you." Rossi announced, sticking the wine in the refrigerator and taking up a knife, unwrapping and cutting up the garlic bread. Hotch uncovered the salad and began to pour the dressing over it, tossing it all together. Reid just stood there, looking lost and awkward. When someone knocked on the door, he scurried to answer it.

"Hello my sweet cupcake!" The trio in the kitchen heard Garcia sing from the front door, and then Reid grunted as Garcia assumingly tackled him.

"Hey Spence." They heard JJ greet.

"Hello." Reid squeaked, sounding like he was still within Garcia's grip. This was confirmed a moment later by JJ's voice drifting back to the kitchen.

"Garcia, you're going to suffocate him."

"Thanks." Reid gasped, and a moment later he and the girls appeared.

"Well now… a domestic Hotch. That's new." JJ commented, and Hotch grinned as he continued to toss the salad. JJ reached around him and snagged a cherub tomato, popping it into her mouth.

"Hey now…" Hotch scolded, playfully whacking the back of her hand with the salad tongs. JJ just grinned. Garcia, in the mean time, laid down a large platter with compartments. Each compartment was filled with a different berry; strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, black berry. The middle was filled with a dipping cream.

"Alright… let's get this to the table!" Emily called, and Reid was more than happy start carrying dishes over, the rest of the team at his heels. And as they were beginning to sit, there was one more knock on the door.

"I got it!" Reid called and scampered to the door.

"Heyyyy…" They all heard the familiar greeting. "Pretty Boy."

"You're late."

"Yeah, yeah… I know." And then the pair walked in. "Alright… Derek Morgan is in the house, let's get this party started!"

"… Arrogant, isn't he?" Rossi asked, lowering his wine glass and looking at Hotch.

"Very." Hotch agreed, sipping his wine. "I don't think he understands that he's not ALWAYS the life of the party."

"Of course he's not." Garcia said, sitting down at the table. "I am." Everyone blinked and then broke into laughter, taking their seats as Morgan set down his contribution to the evening.

"Here we go! Meatballs a la Mama Morgan!"

"Ooooohhh…." Chorused Reid and the girls, making Rossi look at Hotch in confusion.

"Morgan's mother makes delicious EVERYTHING." Hotch informed him.

"Ah. Well… why don't we let this Italian decide how good they are." Rossi sorted, and Morgan pointed the serving spoon in the man's direction.

"Rossi… you say anything bad about my mother's cooking and I'm shoving this up your ass. SIDEWAYS."

"Technically, I'll be insulting YOUR cooking. Just because you have the recipe it doesn't mean you'll be able to execute it like a master." The Italian said, casually sipping his wine. Hotch's shoulders shook in silent laughter at his friend's attitude. Morgan just rolled his eyes and sat down.

"Alright." Emily announced, raising her glass. "Here's to…"

"The meatballs being delicious so Morgan won't commit sodomy with a serving spoon against Rossi?" JJ offered, and the team broke into laughter again.

Rossi gave JJ a look.

"… Here's to…" Emily tried again.

"… A family dinner?" Reid offered tentatively. Emily turned and looked at Reid, who flushed and ducked his head.

"I'll drink to that." Emily smiled, and Reid perked up a bit. "To a family dinner! And this lovely centerpiece, courtesy of the good doctor!"

"Awwww… Reid brought you flowers?" Garcia cooed, ad Reid flushed again, mumbling something along the lines of "I can't cook…"

The team laughed again, and raised their glasses to the family dinner, and Reid's center piece. Then they began to pass the food around.

"Nuh-uh, kid." Morgan suddenly announced, and reached across the table. "You gotta put some meat on your bones." And he seized the serving spoon from Reid and plopped two large meatballs down beside the one that Reid had taken. Reid's jaw dropped.

"Those are HUGE!"

"EAT." Morgan commanded, allowing Rossi to take the serving spoon from him. Rossi took four meatballs, and then took Morgan's example and forced a second piece of bread on Reid, who gave Emily an imploring look.

"You have no butt, Reid." Emily simply said. "Put some weight on and give the ladies something to look at, hm?" And she winked, grinning as Reid turned bright red and his eyes bulged. The others snickered as well.

"This kid has been skinny as hell since the day I met him." Morgan grinned. "He was this… skinny little kid who looked sixteen years old, and awkward and scared as hell. Gideon brought him into the bull pen and introduced me to him as our newest team mate. He had this shaggy hair hanging in his face and wouldn't even meet my eyes. Took me a while to figure out that he was intimidated."

"Awwww…" Garcia cooed. "Well, I can see why." And she eyed Morgan's biceps. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"I seem to recall that a young and cocky Special Agent Derek Morgan found ME intimidated when WE met." Hotch commented, and Morgan gave him a dirty look. "Young cop joins the Bureau, full of himself… we made eye contact and he suddenly realized he was playing with the big boys now."

"Man, shut up!" Morgan complained, and the others laughed.

"If it helps, I think Reid was scared of me for the first month he worked at the BAU." Hotch shrugged, and team laughed again.

"How did YOU two first meet?" Emily asked, looking at Morgan and Garcia.

"We were workin' a case," Morgan said, "and REID told me that the new TA's name was GOMEZ."

"REID got something WRONG?" Emily blurted, grinning at the genius.

"Eidetic memory applies to things I READ." The youth snapped, miffed. "Not things I HEAR."

"So when I didn't respond," Garcia picked up, "he called me Baby Girl."

"Ohhhhhh…" Emily and JJ chorused, grinning.

"And the rest, is history." Morgan chuckled, and he and Garcia clinked their glasses, then curled their arms around one anothers, hooking their elbows, and drinking. The rest of the team laughed again.

"I seem to recall a standard meeting with Emily and Morgan…" Rossi mused, eating the meatballs. "These are good, by the way. I prefer a bit more spices, but not bad. For a non-Italian." And he winked at Morgan who gave the man a dirty look before waving the serving spoon threateningly. "Now Reid… He was wearing a Frankenstein mask on his head and a noose around his neck and had thrown a shrunken head at Prentiss."

Hotch, JJ and Garcia laughed while Morgan and Prentiss grinned at the memory. Reid looked embarrassed.

"And then there was Garcia, bursting into the room and freaking out at the case photos on the screen in the round table room." Rossi concluded, and Garcia grimaced.

"That was horrifying." She said.

"We all know how everyone met Prentiss…" Morgan frowned.

"And you know how Dave and I met." Hotch nodded.

"NYAO!" Came a loud announcement, and Reid gasped and jumped when a black cat leapt onto the table and began to eat one of his meatballs.

"Oh! Sergio!" Emily cried, seizing the cat and picking him up. The cat's paws flailed at the meatball, as if trying to take it with him when he was carried out of the dinning room and tossed into the bedroom, the door closing to shut him in. The team snickered as Emily came back to the table, the cat's displeased complaints carrying through the door.

"Sorry, Reid. Want another meatball?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine." Reid said, forking some salad into his mouth.

"You know… that cat has got to be a pain when you're getting down with some guy…" Morgan grinned, looking at Emily. She blinked, then rolled her eyes.

"… Has it ever happened?" Hotch asked, now looking amused and intrigued.

"I'm not telling you! You're my boss!" Emily blurted, laughing.

"… Jack walked in on me and Haley once." Hotch admitted, and the team laughed.

"What happened?!"Garcia gasped.

"He burst in, Haley screamed and ran for the bathroom with the bedsheet and left me hiding behind a pillow to deal with my son who was crying, because mommy screaming had scared him." Hotch snorted, and the team laughed.

"Henry has walked in on me and Will before, too." JJ said. "I think it's a Rite of Passage for a parent." And she and Hotch grinned and raised their glasses to one another and drank.

"What happened with you?" Hotch asked.

"We didn't know Henry was there until he jumped on Will's back and said he wanted to play, too." JJ said. "… I screamed. Will used some words that he shouldn't have and Henry was laughing, parroting what his dad had just said. And then… I threw them BOTH out of the bedroom." JJ said, and there was more laughter.

"You ever had any… unwelcome interruptions?" Garcia asked Morgan with a grin.

"… I was in bed with a girl once…" Morgan sighed. "… And Clooney jumped onto the bed and got up in her face and slobbered all over her. I think it goes without saying that he… killed the mood."

"Nice. I had a retriever a long time ago… Between wife two and three… And one night, when was… seducing a lady into my bed… he did his retriever thing and… he brought me a bra. It uh… wasn't hers."

"Wow! Dogs are cock blockers!" Garcia laughed.

"Okay princess! You got any awkward interruptions?" Morgan challenged.

"I think I have you all beat." Garcia snorted.

"What got in the way with you?" Emily asked.

"… SSA David Rossi."

Hotch choked on a meatball, and Emily got a napkin to her mouth just in time to catch the wine before it was spit all over the table. Reid just turned and stared at Rossi.

"… Me?!" Rossi asked.

"You were banging on my door at a crazy late hour. I was in shower with Kevin after… uh… well, anyway, I was soaking wet and in my bathrobe and you just INVITED yourself in and started fussing about the Galen Case."

"… And then Kevin walked out of the bathroom naked." Rossi groaned, bowing his head and rubbing his eyes with one hand.

"… Ew." Morgan commented, making a face.

"Hey. YOU invited yourself in." Garcia said, jabbing a fork at Rossi. "How about you, Reid?"

Reid froze, and his mouth opened and closed several times.

"Leave him alone, Garcia." JJ grinned, shaking her head. "Honestly, I'm wondering how we started talking about awkward sex moments with our own coworkers." And they all burst out laughing again.

When the team finished dinner, they cleaned up together and they settled in the living room on the sofas, eating the berries and cream that Garcia had made and once again talking about the flowers Reid had brought. Garcia had confiscated the little plant and had her nose stuck in the blossoms between bites of dessert. Reid had just finished telling the story of Hyakinthos, and Garcia made a face, whining "why is it always BLOOD?!" The team laughed again, then turned when the door to the bedroom rattled and a little paw was seen flailing under the door.

"MAOOOOO…" Came the morose cry.

"Awww… let him out." Garcia grinned, and Emily did so. Sergio trotted out and shook himself, flicking his tail. Then he made his way over to the gathered group, purring and rubbing against Garcia.

"Awwww… Hello there, little handsome." The Tech Goddess cooed, and offered some homemade whipped cream on the tip of her finger. Sergio daintily licked it off, and sniffed around for more. When she didn't offer more (after Emily's warning glare) he proceeded to inspect the rest of the team and eventually crawled into Reid's lap (who was seated on the floor) and then curled up and made himself comfortable, purring. Reid blinked, then smiled and began to pet the cat.

As the evening progressed, people began to drift home. First JJ and Hotch, heading home to their children. And then Rossi, who declared he was too old to stay up with the "rowdy youngsters". And finally, several hours later, Morgan and Garcia stood, declaring it time to go home. But then they turned.

Reid was fast asleep on the sofa.

"Awwww…" Garcia giggled, and Morgan grinned and shook his head.

"I'll see you guys Monday." Emily said softly, and saw them out the door. Then she returned to the sofa and smiled down at Reid, then laughed softly and grabbed the fleece throw, draping it over him before flicking out the lights and heading to her room, more than ready for bed.


End file.
